


The Undefeated Is Conquered

by The_Myth_Rider



Series: The Dragon With A Mane [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Ariel/Leonard is smitten, Arm Wrestling, Dorothea is sassy, F/F, Gay Character, Gay Panic, Gen, Lesbian Character of Color, Twitterpated, Useless Lesbians, and then his wife shows up and owns him, cheek kiss, so you remember that Disney short about John Henry, this is that, where John is arm wrestling all the boys, yes that, yes the poc lesbian is the oc, you remember that one part in it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:14:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23950648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Myth_Rider/pseuds/The_Myth_Rider
Summary: A bonus to being disguised as a boy? Arm wrestling the other guys and kicking their asses. But the confidence of that facade doesn't protect Ariel from the sheer beauty and charm of a one Dorothea Arnault.
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Dragon With A Mane [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1639684
Kudos: 9





	The Undefeated Is Conquered

Sylvain’s first mistake was challenging “Leonard” to an arm wrestling match.

His second mistake was thinking he could win.

Ariel smirked, her hand hardly trembled as it grasped her opponent’s. Sylvain groaned and struggled, and sweat beaded all over his face. But Ariel’s hand was unmoved, her face calm and still grinning. Honestly, she hardly needed to flex to keep him from pushing her hand down.

She wouldn’t actually tell him that, as obnoxious as Sylvain could be, Ariel wouldn’t dare mock the boy so. Instead, she simply decided he’d suffered long enough, and without trouble slammed his hand back onto the table. The crowd that had gathered cheered, and Sylvain’s fellow Lions even gave Ariel some pats on the back.

Ingrid seemed especially grateful.

“That was great, Leonard!” She smiled down at Ariel, who struggled not to squirm. “Sylvain needed to be knocked down a peg or two, thank you for your hard work.”

Ariel glanced over to make sure Sylvain couldn’t hear, them leaned towards Ingrid and whispered, “It wasn’t hard, honestly.”

Ingrid immediately burst into laughter, and patted Ariel on the back once more as she left to join her classmates. They crowded around Sylvain, and seemed to alternate between heckling him and comforting him. Ariel had lingered at the table that had been used for the match, and was startled when Caspar suddenly appeared across from her. He smiled wide at her and already had his hand up.

“My turn, Leonard!” He shouted, making Ariel’s ears ring. “Let’s do this!”

The still present audience milled excitedly, no doubt eager for another round. Ariel blinked ar him for a moment before she shrugged, smiled, and took Caspar’s hand. The crowd roared in approval as, after a moment’s hesitation and then a nod, the match started.

Ariel knew better than to underestimate the blue-haired bundle of energy. She’d seen what her classmate could do, and knew his stature meant nothing; he really was deceptively strong. While it wasn’t beyond her ability to handle, she truly did have to put a little bit more elbow grease into holding back Caspar’s hand. But where her strength failed her, Ariel’s endurance did not.

Though to his credit, Caspar lasted twice as long as Sylvain. But his stamina still eventually began to die out. Sweat and stress alike spread throughout his face as he began to have issue holding her back. Ariel gave Caspar a smirk, and afforded him a few more seconds before she slammed his hand back as well. The crowd cheered once more, even louder than before, and Caspar slumped back with a smile.

“Leonard, that was amazing! You’ve got to train with me sometime, show me how you got so tough!”

Ariel shrugged and leaned back in her chair. “If you want, Caspar, but I make no promises. Arm wrestling is more delicate work than it seems, after all.”

Caspar stood from the chair, and frowned as he stepped aside.

“I wouldn’t think so, but then I lost, so maybe you’re right!”

Ariel smiled and waved at him as he left. She loved this game, though she really needed to get out of there. She’d promised to meet up with Dorothea, she’d offered to help her go on a market run. But before Ariel could even think to rise, Raphael plopped himself in the seat across from her, elbow already on the table as he grinned.

“My turn, Leonard! Come on, loser gives the winner their dinner shares!”

Ariel grimaced and sighed, but didn’t have the heart to deny Raphael his challenge. The muscular young Deer loved feats of strength, after all. Plus, the roaring approval of the crowd as she grasped his meaty hand reminded her of their presence. She’d accidentally gotten them all hooked on her win streak, and now Ariel was paying for it.

_Sorry, Dorothea..._

The match began, and Ariel kept her eyes on Raphael’s face. She had to be careful, the young man outweighed every single other student in the monastery with his musculature. One would think he’d win all arm wrestles easy, but Ariel was both pretty strong herself, and clever. Pure strength alone did not a winner make, as Sir Malachi had always told her.

It took a lot more effort, and a lot more time, but before long Ariel managed to wait Raphael out. She could see how labored his breathing was, the sweat that gathered on his brow, and smirked. He was glaring at their grasped hands, lips pulled back in a strained grimace. But then, Raphael made the mistake of looking up and meeting Ariel’s eyes.

She simply smiled, and slammed his hand back into the table.

The crowd cheered loud and proud, as Raphael pouted. Ariel easily knew why he was upset, and reached out to pat his hand.

“It’s okay, Raph, I didn’t accept your bet, now did I? Don’t worry about the dinner shares.”

The young man beamed at her, then stood and patted her on the back. She only winced a little, to her credit.

“Thanks a bunch, Leo! And good match, you’re a lot stronger than you look!”

As he left, Ariel frowned and scratched the back of her head. Than she looked? How strong did she look, or...not look, as it was? She sighed and shook her head, finally free and ready to leave. But just as she made to stand, another challenging hand entered her field of vision.

“I believe I deserve a turn, don’t you think?”

Ariel jolted, shocked are the all too familiar voice, and looked up in horror at Dorothea’s smirking face. It didn’t help that she looked awfully beautiful as always, and Ariel could already feel the flush take over her face. She gulped and started stuttering, what words she got out somewhere in between apologies and explanations. Dorothea simply raised an eyebrow and wiggled her fingers.

“Beat me, and we’ll call it even. Lose, and you’re coming with me to an opera show.”

Ariel took a shuddering breath, the crowd that watched in equal parts amusement and anticipation long since gone ignored by her. She resettled herself on her chair, and raised her hand to take Dorothea’s. This was actually the first time she’d held the woman’s hand without the gloves Ariel normally wore, and she regretted it being now, when her palm was horrendously sweaty.

Dorothea didn’t seem to even blink, however, and simply stared at Ariel as they both waited. After a moment passed, they started, arms flexing as they pushed against each other. Not wanting to insult Dorothea, Ariel treated her no different and fought to win. She ignored that still present smirk on her distractingly pretty lips, and tried to focus. For a moment, it seemed, obvious as it may be, that Ariel would win yet again.

Then in a swift motion without ever lifting her elbow, Dorothea stood up, leaned over the table, and kissed Ariel on the cheek.

Ariel’s mind flatlined, and the next thing she knew, the crowd was crying out in outrage and a sharp pain was pulsing in the back of her hand. She blinked back into awareness, and hardly noticed how Dorothea gently rubbed the the smarting back of her hand. Ariel did, however, notice the big smile on her victorious opponent’s face.

_She’s so beautiful..._

“I’ll let you know when the show is, you’ll love it, I promise.”

Ariel just nodded dumbly, awestruck and utterly twitterpated, as Dorothea winked at her and walked away.


End file.
